A Special Gift

by Alice Brown

  Her sucking became less of a pull, and he knew the gash would be knitting itself back together anyway. He leaned back against the wall with her securely enfolded in his arms, keeping his wrist at her mouth to drink as much as she wanted. Closing his eyes, his last thought was of resting just a moment before taking Stephanie back out of the deep freeze.

  “Marshall! Marshall!” He could hear Kevin calling his name, but it took a minute to awaken fully and figure out what was going on. “You fell asleep, my friend. Let me take Stephanie, and how about you come with me.”

  Kevin picked Stephanie up off Marshall’s lap and started out of the freezer. Marshall stood and followed him, still trying to shake the cobwebs out of his head. Kevin carried Stephanie straight up to her room, and then gently placed her on the bed, where a splint for her leg was waiting. Kevin began fastening it to her injured leg. Stephanie only roused once, to yell out, “Ouch, that hurts!” as her father tried to attach the splint around her leg without causing too much pain. When she yelled, he stopped immediately, soothing her with gentle words and stroking her cheek.

  Once he had her completely settled, he turned to his second-in-command and long-time friend. “Use Stephanie’s shower and get into some clean clothing. We’ve set her air-conditioning as low as it will go. Stay here with her, I think it will help both of you to be together right now,” he stated in his not-to-be-argued-with tone.

  Marshall blinked his eyes a few times and shook his head, wondering if he were dreaming. Had Kevin actually told him to stay in the same room as his daughter? Yes, they were engaged, and yes, by now Kevin and Erica probably knew they’d had sex. But still. He didn’t think he would ever hear Kevin give his approval to stay with Stephanie.

  Still trying to figure things out, he asked, “Kevin, what is this all about?”

  His best friend and boss reached over and placed his hand on Marshall’s shoulder. “Look, you two are engaged, and will be married very soon. Besides, we are kind of short on both help and beds. I honestly think she is going to need you on an emotional level when she recovers from her injuries. She is also going to need a shoulder to lean on when she does heal up enough to face the fact that Atkins is gone. That one is going to be rough on her, trust me. You are probably one of the very few people who can help her get over her grief. So, with that in mind, you have my blessing. I know you will take good care of her.”

  Marshall gave him the first genuine smile in days. “You know I will. I am not about to lose her.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Walking out of Stephanie’s bathroom after taking a shower, Marshall heard a scratching noise coming from her door. He opened the door to find her cat, Wild-man, standing in front of him, glaring.

  “Oh, yeah, just what I needed to make my night complete,” he grumbled. He started to shut the door in the cat’s face, but Wild-man flew into the room before the door closed. Marshall glanced down and frowned at the glaring cat. This cat had never liked him, and now it looked like they were going to be stuck in close quarters.

  The cat jumped up on the bed, sniffing at Stephanie’s injured leg. He then looked back over to Marshall and gave a small meow. The cat looked to be genuinely concerned for its owner, and even though Marshall didn’t care for the cat any more than the cat liked him, it looked like they were going to have to figure out how to live together. Besides, they were both worried about the same thing. That should count for something, shouldn’t it?

  “She’s hurt, buddy. Our girl is hurt,” he said softly to the cat, approaching slowly to let the cat sniff his hand. He stroked the cat’s back a few times. He soon had Wild-man purring and rubbing up against his hand, but then the cat decided to lie directly on top of Stephanie’s hurt leg. Marshall had read somewhere that animals will sometimes do this to try to help comfort their owners, not knowing any better.

  He reached down and plucked the cat up before he was fully seated on the injured leg, and urged him to lie down beside her. “Here, you can be with her, it will make her feel better. How about you and I come to a truce?” He couldn’t believe he was stooping this low. If Kevin had been within hearing distance, he would be rolling on the floor with laughter. Marshall reached over and petted the cat again once he was settled in next to Stephanie. “We both love her, and we both want her better. We can agree on that, can’t we?” He must really be sleep deprived, his mind mused. For him to be sitting here trying to make a deal with a damn house cat that has been nothing but a nuisance ever since the day he showed up. Yeah, he probably should look at getting himself committed.

  Wild-man looked over at Marshall for a moment as if he were sizing the vampire up. It was the thing that had always irritated Marshall the most. The cat knew he lived in a house full of vampires, yet he walked around as if it wasn’t possible for any one of them to pick him up and crush him to dust in an instant. When Marshall offered his hand, Wild-man gave a quick lick, followed by a short meow at Marshall. The vampire took that to mean that his offer of truce had been accepted. At least for the time being. Marshall grinned when he remembered that this cat was coming to live with him in just a few short months. That was going to get interesting...very interesting. “Let’s just both concentrate on getting her better, Wild-man,” Marshall murmured. “There will be plenty of time later for us to hate each other again.”

  The cat gave him a dismissive look before he placed his head on Stephanie and started purring. Marshall shook his head in self-disgust. Maybe he was suffering from more than just depletion of strength. He was a vampire, and here he was making deals with a fifteen-pound ornery house cat, for crying out loud.

  He had grabbed the local newspaper from the living room on his way up earlier, and sat down in the bedroom chair to catch up on a bit of news from around the city. Honestly, he had been so busy with the search and rescue, and then with Stephanie, he had no idea of anything going on throughout the city.

  He must have dozed off reading, because a sharp knock on the door brought him awake. Nurse Amy poked her head in. “Just checking on Ms. Stephanie,” she stated as she entered the room. “Has she been awake at all?”

  “Not since earlier this afternoon, when she was in the walk-in freezer,” Marshall replied. “She did drink some blood though.”

  “Good. The pain medication should be just about out of her system, so don’t be surprised if she wakes up soon.”

  As the nurse walked around to the side of the bed, Wild-man decided to show his not-so-nice-self. Standing up with his back arched, the cat hissed at her and made it a point of showing his fangs, as if that would really scare a vampire woman. Still, it was obvious that he had caught Amy off-guard as she stopped and breathed an “oh my” watching the cat. Marshall sighed and stood, knowing he was going to need to referee.

  “Wild-man, she is here to help Stephanie,” he stated softly as he picked the cat up and cuddled him to his shoulder. If the cat had any common sense in him, he would stay there and behave.

  Nope, Wild-man wasn’t about to give up that easily. He turned his head and hissed right in Marshall’s ear. Marshall chuckled, covering the cat’s entire face with his free hand. Little demon cat! What in the world had Stephanie ever seen in this furball anyway?

  Amy watched with wide eyes as the cat hissed at Marshall. “You’ll have to forgive the psychologically unbalanced cat this family has. He has always considered himself Stephanie’s personal bodyguard,” Marshall explained to the nurse. As Marshall let go of the cat’s face, he slashed his claws down Marshall’s arm. He drew a little bit of blood, but not enough to hurt anything. It was more of a statement that he didn’t like to be manhandled.

  “Hey, we have a truce right now, remember?” Marshall growled at the cat, whose claws were still dug into his arm. “Besides, you better come at me with a lot more than a few claws, cat!” He reached down and pulled the claws out of his skin. “Now, behave yourself, or you’re going to end up outside!”

  Nurse Amy tested Stephanie’s vitals, checked her brok
en arm and ribs, then the leg with the splint around it. “It all looks a tiny bit better than first thing this morning,” Amy reported. “If you can get some more blood in her tonight, we might see even more improvement tomorrow.”

  Marshall dropped the cat to the floor after the nurse closed the door behind her. He just knew he was going to run into problems with that damn cat over the next few days. He sat on the side of the bed, gently picking up Stephanie’s good hand. If she would be waking up soon, he wanted to be right there.

  *****

  As Stephanie started to drift back into the waking world, she felt someone lightly rubbing her hand. She inhaled deeply, or tried to anyway—damn, that hurt! She tried to inhale again to catch a scent; pain sliced through her ribs again. Okay, no inhaling deeply, she sternly lectured herself.

  “Baby, are you awake? Are you in any pain?” Marshall was there. Whatever was wrong, it would be okay because her Marshall was there with her.

  She opened her eyes and looked directly into the face of the man she loved, the man who was destined to be her mate, forever. He was smiling tenderly down at her, but his eyes wore dark circles of exhaustion instead of their usual twinkle. The skin around his entire face seemed to be sagging.

  She raised her good hand to touch Marshall’s cheek gently. “Baby, are you sick? Has something happened to you?” She made another attempt to stroke his cheek, but her arm and hand ran out of strength, flopping over to her side like a fish out of water. What in the world had happened?

  “I’m fine, love; you are the one who has had us all worried,” he replied as he bent down and gave her a gentle peck on the lips. Oh, something is very wrong here. Why isn’t he kissing me like he usually does?

  She frowned as she stated, “Please don’t take offense to this, but you don’t look so good.”

  He gave a chuckle while shaking his head. “You are in fine shape to be telling me how I look, missy. Would you like to borrow a mirror before making any further comments?” She looked at him, confused. What is he talking about? She quickly searched her mind, going back to the last thing she could remember. Oh, no! She had been at the retirement village with Pop Atkins when an earthquake struck.

  Memories suddenly poured through her brain until her head felt like it was going to explode from all of the gruesome images of being trapped, of Pop Atkins dying while holding her hand. She let out a noise like a wounded animal as she tried to breathe through the tears that threatened. Panicking, she grabbed for Marshall’s hand, trying to convey to him that she couldn’t breathe. It felt like her windpipe was being held shut.

  Finally, she was able to catch a little bit of air. Looking up at Marshall through tear-soaked eyes, she wailed, “Marshall, he’s gone. He died holding my hand!” She tried to sit up, then yelped from the sharp pain in her ribs. “Oh, dear God, he is truly gone!” she cried out as she fought her own body. When Marshall tried to move, she hung on to him like a leech. “I need you, please don’t leave me!”

  He lifted her off the bed, carefully maneuvering around her injuries, and sat back down on the side, cradling her to him like a child. She continued to cry uncontrollably, trying to speak to Marshall, but most of her words unintelligible through her sobs. He gently rocked her back and forth while rubbing her back, trying to soothe her, and reminding her to take short breaths.

  Kevin and Erica had let themselves in and were standing in front of them, but Stephanie didn’t even realize they were in the room. She was still weeping disconsolately, and they all knew that wasn’t doing her broken ribs any good.

  Suddenly, Stephanie moaned, “Oh, God, I’m going to get sick!”

  Marshall immediately picked her up and used his body to brace her against the sink, as she had no strength to stand. And she was shaking as bad as if she were an addict going through detox. When she was through, he carried her back into the bedroom.

  As he put her back on the bed, her eyes widened with immediate fear. “Don’t leave me!” she shrieked, attempting to throw her arms around his neck, with only limited success. She had one arm that wasn’t working at all, and the other was not cooperating with her, either.

  “Stephanie, love, calm down, I am not going anywhere!” Marshall reassured her. She turned over to her left side a bit, realizing her ribs were not so painful in this position. She felt someone stacking pillows behind her.

  Tears were still pouring down her face, but she was breathing easier than she had before. She had exhausted herself, and could only make a feeble attempt to reach out to Marshall as she whispered, “I need you.”

  He knelt down by the side of the bed so their faces were close together. “I’m not going anywhere, love.” He glanced over to the end of the bed and then back to her. “Dr. Weathers is here and wants to see you for just a minute, but I promise, I am not going anywhere.”

  He started to pull his hand away, but she cried out, “No, stay right here, please!” as her terror seemed to be pulling ahead of Marshall’s efforts to calm her. She couldn’t stop trembling, which reminded her of the earthquake, which just led her back to the loss of her friend and mentor, which brought on more fits of weeping. Her mind was stuck in an infinite loop.

  She heard a stranger’s voice say, “It’s okay, Marshall. Just move over a bit, and I can squeeze in.” Her eyes were glued to Marshall, and she tried to tighten the hold she had on his hand. A man sat down on the side of the bed. A man she was sure she had never seen before. Who is this man? Why would my parents let a stranger in the house and in my bedroom?

  “Stephanie, my name is Dr. Weathers. I am a vampire doctor from Texas. I am here to help Dr. Carlson.” He paused. “You wouldn’t by chance know my good friends, Walter and Sissy Andrews, would you? Someone told me it was you who helped save Sissy’s sister, Betty. Do I have the distinct pleasure of meeting a true hero?” He spoke in soothing tones, evidently hoping to ease her fears.

  She acknowledged him by nodding her head, and then turned her attention back to Marshall. He was her mate. He was her protector. He would make this right. “Plee-a-s-ee, mm-akeeee ittttt sssttttooopp!” Her teeth were chattering as if she were freezing as she tried to convey to her true love that she didn’t even know how to begin to put herself back together. With the chainsaw in her ribs, and the vice grips around her chest, she just couldn’t get enough air in her lungs.

  “Stephanie, you need to try to take smaller breaths of air,” Dr. Weathers instructed. Was the man a total idiot? Or did he think she was? She rolled her eyes and brought Marshall’s hand to her midsection.

  “Hurts,” she rasped in a hoarse whisper.

  “Stephanie, I am going to give you a shot that will help calm you down. I understand what you are saying, if you take deep breaths, it hurts, right?” Dr. Idiot broke in again.

  It took her a moment to realize he had asked a question. Again, she responded with a nod. She knew she wasn’t showing her best manners, but at the moment she didn’t want to talk to anyone. Let alone a complete stranger, even if he was a doctor.

  “Okay, just concentrate on breathing in and out slowly without hurting your ribs. I am going to give you a shot that will calm you down, but you will probably become sleepy again,” Dr. Idiot said.

  What, a shot? Oh, hell no! No stranger was going to stick a needle with God-knows-what in it and knock her out! And why wasn’t Marshall kicking this asshole out the window? “NO! NO!” she yelled as loud as she could while clinging to Marshall’s hand for dear life.

  “Stephanie, it’s okay. You are having a panic attack. Dr. Weathers is trying to give you something that will calm you down.” Marshall was right next to her, soothingly rubbing his hand over her in an attempt to calm her down, but it just wasn’t working. And then she realized her parents were in the bedroom also. What is going on here?

  Didn’t they understand anything? She didn’t want to sleep anymore. She didn’t want to take the chance of waking up and not finding Marshall there. She didn’t want to have those same dreams over and over ag
ain of being stuck under all that weight, losing Pop Atkins, being so lonely, and then the total silence that followed. Suddenly, a familiar voice cut through her thoughts, this one giving her a bit of reassurance that all would be okay.

  “Stephanie, are you giving this new, good looking doctor a hard time?” Dr. Carlson asked as he came into view. “Yep, inherited her mother’s genes, all right. She’s having a full-blown panic attack.”

  “I am well aware of that. I was trying to give her a shot of—” Dr. Weathers never finished the sentence, because Stephanie suddenly sat up as best she could and screamed, “No shot! I don’t want any more nightmares!”

  She collapsed to the bed, the energy completely drained from her. She would learn later that she had actually showed her fangs during that little tirade.

  Blackness pressed at her, taking over, quickly engulfing her within its dark confines. She had no energy to fight it, so she gave in and let it take her.

  *****

  “Wow!” Marshall exclaimed quietly as he glanced over at Kevin, standing stock-still, having a hard time believing what he had just witnessed out of his daughter.

  “Remind me never to make her mad at me,” Marshall joked as he gently brushed the hair from Stephanie’s face.

  “I had no idea she had fangs,” Kevin said, clearly still in shock. “Did you know?” he asked Erica, who hadn’t spoken a word during the entire episode.

  “I had no idea. I wonder if she even knows,” Erica marveled quietly.

  Marshall watched as Kevin and Erica discussed whether or not anyone knew she had fangs. Of course, he could have told them that he knew for a fact she was aware of her fangs since she had sunk them into his flesh just a few short weeks ago. But that would lead to questions he would rather not answer, so he remained silent.